^^ They only said they would not object to the third party supplying the coverage.
So what they are doing is…nothing. Not approving it, not assisting it, not fighting it.
here’s another article: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/359118-notre-dame-reverses-decision-to-end-no-cost-contraceptive-coverage
From link in #141.
No change to current policy of them not providing BC.
Agreed. The whole thing confuses me anyway, since I thought ND never did provide coverage, and coverage was funded by the federal government. When the govt cancelled funding, ND didn’t have to change anything b/c they weren’t providing coverage in the first place. And now it appears they’re still… doing nothing, as pointed out.
However, since ND and other religious organizations strenuously objected to formally acknowledging they weren’t covering birth control when they were in fact very vocally saying they were not covering birth control, I suppose doing nothing is an improvement.
Not nothing - it’s now being provided for employees whereas before it was not.
No change for students, so far.
Maybe I misunderstood what was happening. Before ACA, ND wasn’t covering birth control under its medical insurance plans (for students or staff). ACA mandated that birth control be covered (and at no cost to the insured). Certain religious affiliated institutions/organizations objected to that on first amendment grounds. Supreme Court held in the Hobby Lobby case that certain closely held businesses could refuse to provide BC coverage. Government worked out a compromise where by other institutions could file for a waiver of coverage at which point, the federal government would pay for the coverage. ND objected that filing the waiver was in and of itself participating/facilitating BC coverage.
Current administration effectively rolled back the BC coverage mandate. As a result, ND announced that BC coverage would not be included in any of its plans beginning in 2018. Yesterday, ND announced that coverage for employees would continue (no word yet on students but those policies are effective for the school year so there are several months to address that issue.
Notre Dame Reverses their decision! Yay!
http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/08/news/economy/notre-dame-birth-control/index.html
The title of the thread is incorrect. ND (and other religious schools) never provided BC so ‘stops providing’ is incorrect… As post #146 explains, there was a work around where the insurers provided it to those covered by a ND policy in a work around. The government covered a fund and any prescriptions were billed through that fund.
No change except that ND is not going to fight the work-around. Doesn’t have to anymore as it is no longer required to provide b/c under new changes to ADA.
From the point of view of employees, they are currently getting free birth control. Notre Dame had said that next year, they no longer get free birth control. Now, Notre Dame has said that employees will continue to get free birth control. If I were an employee, I wouldn’t care what angels-dancing-on-the-heads-of-pins rationale Notre Dame was now advancing; I’d just be happy that my birth control pills or patch or implant would still be free for me.
Birth control pills cost about 80 cents a day. Starbucks, maybe $4, a new wellness entitlement perhaps? Would be nice to get employers and the government out of these decisions.
I am not Catholic, or even religious, but I worked for a Catholic organization for many years. They did a lot of good in the community at great expense to the organization. I had to suck up some of my personal viewpoint in order to participate, a decision that I deemed worth it for the opportunity. I was free to leave at any time. Nobody is holding ND students or employees hostage and the tenets of Catholicism are widely known. ND should be free to practice their religion whether others like it or not. Freedom of religion is more of a founding principle than is an entitlement to condoms and OCP’s.
I’m just glad ND reversed itself, and hope it will also do so for its students.
Good article in the Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/11/notre-dame-birth-control-obamacare-reversal/545282/
“Wonder why they so quickly backtracked on their “sincerely held religious beliefs””
As many (including me) noted above, ND’s beef was about the principle of free exercise/separation of church and state. As a practical matter and as ND knows, the contraception ship for U.S. Catholics sailed decades ago. But the widely ignored rule is still on the books. So it provides a convenient and mostly hypothetical situation to argue about the underlying principle.
ND sued over having to file the work-around waiver paperwork that facilitated the third party coverage paid by the government. Actual churches were always free of the waiver requirement, but church affiliated hospitals and schools were subject to the waiver requirement. ND was arguing that the filing made them complicit in the coverage. That was a pretty thin argument and the federal courts so far had not been buying ND’s claim.
Seems like (in some murky way) the coverage can now be provided without a waiver. So as long as ND can say and do nothing, it is fine with the coverage happening. Looks like they did some unnecessary ready/fire/aim under the new Trump administration policy. Since somehow now they can still be uninvolved.
Pretty theoretical stuff – just the kind of thing lawyers and theologians love to argue about.
The Atlantic article posted above shows how unpopular this “reversal” is with some:
The article goes on to discuss the lack of “protest culture on campus” and says the reason is students are afraid to jeopardize careers or recommendations!, and also possible disciplinary action.
It also discusses the faculty campaign against the change, which apparently did happen, and the fact that they think the U did it because of bad press, not because of their issue with it.
No one is stopping anyone at ND from practicing their religion.
Shocked.
ND didn’t reverse anything. The insurance company did. All ND did was decide it wasn’t going to fight the requirement that it sign the form for the work-a-round, and I think in part it was because the ADA requirements to provide b/c was dropped by executive order. ND as an employer is no longer required to provide health insurance that includes b/c so there is nothing to fight any more. If the insurance company decides to provide it, well that’s up to the insurance company.
Same with the student’s health care provider. ND offers a student insurance program. Unlike employee insurance, ND is not paying for or subsidizing it in any way, but it can decide not to offer students insurance the offers b/c, blood transfusions, transplants, cosmetic surgery, or anything else it might find objectionable. An employer is required to offer ADA complaint insurance to its employees, a college is not require to offer insurance to its students at all. Some states might require the students to have insurance (like Mass) but the college is not required to offer it.
So the insurance company provides it at no extra cost, because it will save money relative to paying for pregnancy, childbirth and child health costs?
Not sure how many pregnancies the insurance companies believe will be avoided with the coverage.